Templo de Ramappa

Texto original en inglés

The Rudreshwara Temple, more commonly known as the Ramappa Temple, is a Hindu temple located in the village of Palampet in eastern Telangana, India. An inscription on a basalt pillar found within a nearby courtyard records that the temple was commissioned in 1213 by Recherla Rudra, a military general of the Kakatiya dynasty, and constructed over a period of 40 years during the reign of Ganapati, the third sovereign of the dynasty. Dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, it is a prominent example of Kakatiya architecture, and combines elements of Dravidian and Chalukyan architectural styles. The temple is primarily constructed of red sandstone, with intricately carved pillars and brackets of granite and dolerite. It exhibits several unique architectural features, including a vimana built with lightweight, buoyant clay bricks and a "sandbox"-style foundation designed to absorb the seismic loads generated by earthquakes. The temple suffered minor damage during Malik Kafur's invasion of Warangal in 1310, and its condition significantly deteriorated after the subsequent decline and fall of the Kakatiya dynasty. In 1916, the temple was surveyed and renovated by Ghulam Yazdani, the director of the Archaeological Department of Hyderabad. Following Indian independence, the management and maintenance of the temple was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India in 1948. In addition to the main temple, the overall complex encompasses multiple partially ruined structures, including two smaller stone temples, a pakashala (kitchen), and a closed mandapa containing a monolithic sculpture of the guardian deity Nandi. The temple is located near Ramappa Lake, an artificial reservoir constructed by the Kakatiyas in the 13th century to store rainwater; according to local legend, both structures are named after the chief architect of the temple. On July 25, 2021, the Ramappa Temple was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The temple was recommended for recognition as a Monument of National Importance on February 18, 2026 by the Archaeological Survey of India.